


In Need of Comfort

by Caiti (Caitriona_3)



Category: Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: Bad Things Happen Bingo, Bucky Barnes Bingo 2019, Hurt/Comfort, Not Loki Friendly, Other, WinterHawk Bingo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-02
Updated: 2019-09-02
Packaged: 2020-10-05 05:53:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,476
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20483939
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Caitriona_3/pseuds/Caiti
Summary: When Bucky's nightmares drag him from sleep, all they can do is be there for him.





	In Need of Comfort

**Author's Note:**

> WARNING - This is **not** Loki-friendly. You have been warned.
> 
> Autumn cocktail – Bartender’s Breakfast - see recipe below  
Winterhawk – B3: Aliens  
Bucky Barnes – U2: Pic (WS on Ice)  
Bad Things – N2: On a Leash  
Good Things – N5: Sharing a Bed  
Hurt/Comfort – O1: Taking Care of Somebody  
Saying: N4: “Where there’s a will, there’s a way.”

[ ](https://imgur.com/BIgaC8O)

Darcy didn’t hate aliens – she wanted that on record.

After all, she worked with her best friend to build bridges between Earth and Asgard. That would be kind of hard if she hated aliens. She adored Thor in all his enthusiastic, golden retriever affection. Sif and the Warriors Three kept her opinions positive while Frigga . . . well, talk about an _awesome_ alien! Odin . . . she could take or leave him; it depended on the day and topic.

But Loki and his cast of cuckoos? A very, _very_ different subject – Darcy couldn’t stand them and especially not **him**.

Mind games and attempted invasions of her home pissed her off as a rule. When mind games involved one of the men in her life as well as her best friend’s mentor? That moved her beyond pissed into a white-hot rage. Sure, she got that Loki had some issues – it couldn’t be easy being Thor’s brother and given some of the big guy’s stories, she could only imagine being raised by Odin. But he had a fantastic mother who loved him! And yeah, okay, adopted – and not knowing about it – she could get being pissed for being lied to, but be real! It’s not like he’s the only adopted person in the universe. 

Okay, maybe, _maybe_ she could get past Germany and New York. Apparently he’d been at least partially controlled during that mess. Did that include forgiving him for mind-raping her man? She kinda doubted it. Sure, he’d been driven to fight and invade Earth, but how far did that control really stretch? Somehow she had trouble accepting the idea that the influence went so deep as to control just _how_ he handled the invasion.

Besides, he didn’t have any such excuse when he sent that damn robot to New Mexico to kill his brother without a single thought as to who else might get killed along the way.

And now? Now he popped back up to cause the Avengers more trouble . . . and this time he turned his mind games on Bucky.

“Could we please lose that jackass down a black hole or something?” she muttered as she watched Bucky prowl through their rooms. A soft snort drew her eyes up to her Hawk’s perch. “It’s an idea.”

“I think it’s been tried.” Clint’s gaze also followed their lover’s footsteps. 

“Too damn bad.”

Loki hadn’t managed to take control of Bucky, but he’d dragged old nightmares out of the depths of his subconscious. Memories of that fucking chair of Hydra’s . . . the terror of being back on their leash . . . Bucky fought all night with his inner demons, trading control with Soldier as he sought to protect his lovers from the shadows of his own mind. Eventually they tore him from sleep and sent him reaching for a weapon, barking an order to them as they started to sit up.

“Stop.”

In what would not have been her finest moment, Darcy might have continued moving, but Clint hauled her back down and pinned her to the bed. “Hold it, sweetheart,” he murmured into her ear. “Let him get his bearings.”

And they lay there, tense and uncertain as they watched their lover’s face flicker back and forth from a troubled Bucky to an icy Soldier and back. Several minutes passed before he put the gun away and stalked into the living room with a muttered curse. Only then did Clint let her up as he strode after the other man. She untangled herself from the blankets to hurry after them. Pausing in the doorway, she watched as Clint curled a hand around Bucky’s head, drawing him close to murmur a question.

When the taller man shook his head, Clint nodded and backed off with a final touch to Bucky’s jaw. He gestured Darcy away from the man before pulling himself up to his perch. In deference to his need for space, and knowing it would be easier to keep an eye on both of them, she moved to stand close to her Hawk.

So now they watched him pace.

When it became clear that Bucky didn’t plan to settle on his own any time soon, Darcy went to the kitchen to plot. Clint would keep an eye on him while she arranged for them all to have a day off. A couple of calls to the right people and their schedules opened up. She began pulling together some easy comfort foods as she went through a mental list of movies. Her plans for the day included food, Disney, classic Hollywood, pajamas, and everything soft or comforting. Granted, she also figured on sex and alcohol, but only if that’s what Bucky needed or wanted today. 

His needs would dictate everything.

If he needed to go shoot targets, Clint would shadow him . . . or challenge him – whatever proved necessary. Or if he wanted to get more physical about his frustration, Steve and Natasha both promised to hang around the Tower today so he’d have a partner or two for a knockdown, drag out type of fight. But if he wanted to hide out here in their rooms, then Darcy intended for him to have all of the solace she could provide.

For herself, she wanted a hit of something, so she made herself a Bartenders’ Breakfast – one of the new drinks she’d discovered since coming to New York City. Nutella, rum, and other stuff . . . all of it combined to create a nice cocktail – even if her lovers turned up their noses at the idea.

And then stole tastes of hers.

With the food ready on trays and her drink in hand, she sailed back into the living area to find Bucky and Clint staring at each other from maybe two feet apart. Her Hawk looked patient, waiting with all that sniper-stillness, while her Soldier seemed torn between desires – to run and to stay. The indecision on his face tore at her heart, but she pushed the feeling back. 

“Okay, boys, everyone back into the bedroom,” she announced. “We’ve got a day off and I intend to spend it in bed.” Clint snickered as Bucky blinked at her. She pointed at the shorter man. “Mind out of the gutter, Hotshot,” she ordered. Then she paused and gave him a wicked little smirk. “For now anyway. We’ll see how the day goes.” Her finger shifted from him to the kitchen. “Grab the tray, would you? Breakfast in bed followed by a movie – that’s the basic plan for the morning.”

“I’ll get it,” he chuckled. Then, before she could stop him, he grabbed her drink and took a quick sip. “Little early, sweetheart?”

“Day in bed,” she repeated, stealing her glass back. “I’m not on a clock and, like the song says, it’s five o’clock somewhere.” She narrowed her eyes at him. “And get your own damn alcohol . . . or make me another one of these.” One eyebrow ticked up. “Get.”

“I’m getting, I’m getting.”

Whistling under his breath, he sauntered into the kitchen as she turned back to their third. “So, any objections to the plan?”

“Darce,” Bucky began, a reluctant need thick in his tone.

“Hey.” Putting down her drink, she moved to stand in front of him. Her hands cupped his cheeks as she met his eyes. “You tell me what you need. Want to go shoot something? Clint can take you down to the range. Need to fight someone? Steve and Tasha are both on call.” His lips turned up in the slightest of curves at the corners. “No matter what, we’ll figure it out. And when you’re ready to curl up and just rest? I’m here all day.” The pressure against her palms strengthened as he leaned into her hold. “And if you want to disappear for a few days? Well, I’m betting we can talk Tony and Pepper into figuring out a way to pull a fast one on everyone.”

“Private island,” Clint added, carrying in the tray. “Private lake house, probably a mountain chateau or something somewhere too.” He headed for the bedroom. “Betting he’s got all that – and I damn well know he’s got a private plane.” Turning, he fixed sharp blue eyes on Bucky. “You need it, want it? Name it and we make it happen.” 

Taking in a deep breath, Bucky shut his eyes for a moment and then she could see the tension flow out of him as he released it. He pulled back only far enough to wrap an arm around her waist. Then he steered her towards the bedroom, pausing so she could grab her drink. “A quiet day with the two of you,” he replied, his voice quiet and deep with conviction. “I think that’s all I want right now. Nobody and nothing else.”

“We can do that,” Darcy promised.

Clint nodded, his gaze moving over both of them with a soft heat. “We will.”

**Author's Note:**

> **Bartender's Breakfast – from Wallflower in NYC**
> 
> _Ingredients_
> 
> 1.5 oz coconut milk/Nutella (combine 1:1 in a blender)  
1 oz milk  
.75 oz El Dorado 12 Yr old Rum  
.75 oz Pierre Ferrand 1840 Cognac  
.25 oz demerara syrup  
2 dashes Angostura bitters  
Nutmeg
> 
> _Instructions_
> 
> Shake ingredients with crushed ice and strain into a raki glass. Garnish with shaved nutmeg and a red striped straw.


End file.
